Cleaning of clay soils and soils containing plant-derived polyphenolic compounds (e.g. wine, grape juice, tea and grass) on surfaces continues to be a desired ability of cleaning compositions such as laundry detergents. The inclusion of polymers for soil removal and soil suspension has been utilized for the removal of soils from surfaces in cleaning composition. Often included in these cleaning compositions are surfactants.
Reductions in wash temperatures and reductions in levels of certain materials, such as surfactants, builders, and the like, in cleaning compositions, for environmental and cost saving measures, continue to demand more of a cleaning composition while formulating fewer or lower levels of materials.
Catechols have been discussed as being sequestering agents, or builders, in cleaning compositions. U.S. Pat. No. 3,864,286 discusses the use of disulfonated catechols as detergent builders and surfactants in heavy-duty cleaning compositions. U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,044 discusses the use of a water soluble salt of a polyfunctionally-substituted aromatic acid compound as a sequestering agent in cleaning compositions. U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,592 discusses a detergency builder system for cleaning compositions having ether polycarboxylates, iron and manganese chelating agent (polyfunctionally-substituted aromatic chelating agents among others) and a polymeric polycarboxylate dispersing agent. An alkyl modification to a disulfonated catechol is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,058,472 for the use of alkali metal and ammonium salts of sulfonated C12-C18 alkylcatechols as a surfactant component of cleaning compositions.
Soil suspending polymers or dispersing agents have been utilized in laundry detergent applications. One type of soil these polymers are utilized for are clay soils. Clay soils comprise platelets that associate in face-to-face, edge-to-face or a mixture of the two orientations. The platelets contain aluminum ions (Al3+), some ions being exposed along the edge of the platelet creating a positive charge density. Removal of the clay soils from the surfaces to which it is adhered is difficult to accomplish in relatively short time periods (under 1 hour) such as those found in standard laundry cycles. This is especially true at lower cleaning temperatures (60° C.). Soil suspending polymer do provide some removal of clay soils, however, such clay soils are often not completely removed from the surface. Therefore there still exists a need to improve clay soil removal from surfaces.
It has been unexpectedly discovered that the combination of an anionically modified catechol with a soil-suspending polymer provides improved clay soil cleaning. It has also unexpectedly been discovered that the combination of an anionically modified catechol with a soil-suspending polymer provides improved plant-derived polyphenolic compound soil cleaning in laundry and dishwash systems. These improvements in cleaning are also observed in compositions further comprising a surfactant or surfactant system along with the anionically modified catechol and the soil suspending polymer.